bipolar disorder

American  

noun

Psychiatry.

bipolar disorders plural

1. an affective disorder characterized by periods of mania alternating with periods of depression, usually interspersed with relatively long intervals of normal mood.

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bipolar disorder British  

noun

1. a mental health problem characterized by an alternation between extreme euphoria and deep depression

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bipolar disorder Scientific  

1. Any of several mood disorders usually characterized by periods of depression that alternate with mania.

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bipolar disorder Cultural  

1. Also known as manic-depressive illness. This psychiatric disorder is marked by periods of euphoric (manic) highs often followed by periods of depression.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• bipolar disorders
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bipolar disorder

Berk raised a series of text messages where Hernandez suggested she had bipolar disorder, but Olmedo froze that line of questioning as well.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

But Oddie had always been prone to bouts of depression and he was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder - which he occasionally blamed on his remote relationship with his mother.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

I answered truthfully, but the first thing that came to mind was my bipolar disorder.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

Four trials focused on people with major depressive disorder, while one involved participants with bipolar disorder who were experiencing a depressive episode.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 30, 2026

We can’t go back in time and diagnose him, but from here it looks like a form of epilepsy or, most likely, the beginnings of bipolar disorder, which is also known as manic depression.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman